This invention is a new ocular fluorometer.
The instrument is to be adapted to an ophthalmic slit-lamp 1 and includes holders for fluorescence excitation and barrier filters 3,5 in the light path and a detector system made of a linear array of photodiodes 8 with respective circuitry for reading and control 9. The light is focused in a chosen zone of the eye 13 inducing fluorescence by using specific wavelengths. The fluorescence is measured by the detector 8 coupled to one of the eyepieces of the slit-lamp 1, or to a beam splitter 7 placed before the eyepieces.
There is a system for digitalization of the signal from the detector which is connected to an IBM compatible computer 11 where the data is stored and analyzed.
The instrument has a spatial resolution of 50 .mu. (corresponding to the spacing between the photodiodes) and a sensitivity (lower level of detection) equivalent to the fluorescence of a fluorescein solution of 1 ng/mg. The excellent reproducibility and linearity of the instrument and its design are particularly appropriate for performing the most sophisticated ocular fluorometry measurements in the clinical ophthalmological practice, including studies of permeability of the blood-retinal barrier.
The present invention regards a new ocular fluorometer. The instrument is based on an ophthalmic slit-lamp using specific pairs of fluorescence excitation and barrier filters in the light path and a detector system made by a photodiode linear array with respective circuitry for reading and control. The incoming light from the slit is focused in the eye location where it is desired to measure the induced fluorescence. This in turn is measured using a detector system placed in one of the eyepieces of the slit-lamp microscope or using a beam splitter, the other eyepiece being used for focusing. There is also a system for digitalization of the signal from the detector which is connected to an IBM compatible computer where the data is stored and analyzed.